Barely revealed, the program of the future Dutch government, a coalition of four parties led by the Party for Freedom (PVV) of populist Geert Wilders, has created controversy. With, in his sights, the four pages (out of twenty-six) that he devotes to asylum policy, a key subject for the far-right leader who, after one hundred and seventy-six days , managed to conclude a coalition agreement.
Found guilty in 2021, without sanction, for “insult to a social group” – the Moroccans of the Netherlands – Mr. Wilders became, after his electoral victory in November 2023, the main inspiration for a political project which notably evokes “the strictest asylum policy” never adopted by the country.
The coalition program talks about ” emergency situation “ what the Netherlands would experience to justify decisions which will confront it directly with the European Commission and the southern member states of the Union welcoming the most asylum seekers. Once formed, within four to five weeks, the new government intends to ask Brussels for an opt-out clause which would allow it to exempt itself from the rules of the pact on migration and asylum, definitively adopted. in April by the European Parliament. Such a request would require a revision of the Union Treaty, which would then have to be ratified by all member states. ” Good luck… “quips a Brussels diplomat.
The Dutch partners note that if an “emergency situation” arises, it is rather one that the new coalition risks creating itself. His program provides, in fact, the abolition of a law on the compulsory distribution of asylum seekers in all municipalities in the country. This provision, applied for only three months by the resigning government (which includes the liberal VVD party, now joined by Mr. Wilders) after approval by both houses of Parliament, aimed to relieve congestion in the reception centers.
Limited number of foreign students
By considering suspending the examination of asylum applications for two years, Mr. Wilders and his partners will provoke another conflict with Brussels. The provisions of European law require, in fact, to guarantee access to an application for international protection. And the Commission should not be content with the fact that, even if frozen, asylum applications could continue to be submitted, as the coalition agreement promises.
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